Chapter 21.1

Substitute Marriage (7) – Haunted (1)

“Cackle—cackle—”

The sound of bones turning reverberated in the room, and wind blowing from nowhere lifted the bed curtain, burrowing into the neck and stirring up a chill.

The bedpost seemed to be gnawed by something, rattling.

A blood-red eye appeared on the top of the canopy, which had been changed several times before, reflecting the moonlight in an eerie way.

The body was so stiff that it was uncontrollable, like a ghost pressing on the bed, so that one could only look straight into those red eyes.

There seemed to be someone under the bed, and he was scraping his sharp fingernails against the bed board, each stroke feeling like a scratch on the back.

The interior room was so lively, and there was naturally no rest outside the door. The knock on the door sounded all night, and the closed wooden door creaked as if it would be broken open the next moment.

Li Ruo Shui, who was lying on the bed, could not help trembling, but she was unable to move, and her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

“Brother and sister, open the door and let me in.”

The children’s voice rang outside the door, sounded innocent, but the door was slammed even harder.

Li Ruo Shui turned her eyes towards the spot where the latch was pressed into an arc, and a pair of eyes appeared between the open crack, staring straight at her through the crack.

“Damn it!”

Li Ruo Shui cursed out as her heart was beating wildly and her hairs stood on end due to the violent shock. She tried hard to make a move, but still she couldn’t control her body.

“I’m coming in!”

The gap in the door seemed to widen as he grinned cheekily and continued to push, making the door creaked and screamed.

There was a rustling sound and the locked paper window was poked through, revealing a pair of dull eyes staring at her.

The scratching sound under the bed intensified, and the sound gradually moved from the middle towards the edge of the bed until a bloody hand snapped up onto the edge from under the bed.

“Motherfucker! I can’t take it anymore!”

During the internal and external attack, a pain shot through her shoulder and she suddenly gained strength.

With the restraints gone, Li Ruo Shui rose violently, picked up a wooden stick from the side and swept it under the bed. She then opened the door, carrying the wooden stick, and shouted at the empty corridor like a faultfinder.

“I know someone’s up to something, come out and fight me one on one if you can!”

“Hiring child labour, do you pay them!”

Finally done venting, her inner fear and anger were relieved. Li Ruo Shui leaned against the door, panting and staring intently around her.

She knew that someone would come and play a trick on her, and she had made preconceptions for herself, but she didn’t expect that she would be afraid when she actually encountered it.

The clothing she was wearing was all wet, and now was rubbing against her back with a dry, hard touch, reminding her of how scared she was.

Li Ruo Shui took a deep breath and turned to close the door. She pushed the table against the door and then walked to the couch.

Zheng Yan Qing was lying upright on the couch, motionless, and only his eyes could turn to look at her.

“Are you alright……don’t look at me.”

Li Ruo Shui took a step back, seeing him like this, she could not help but think of those eyes between the crack on the door.

Zheng Yan Qing turned his eyes back and spoke apologetically.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you for so long when it’s obvious that I’m the target.”

Li Ruo Shui waved her hand, tossed the stick aside, lit three or four oil lamps, and the room slowly lit up.

“Wait until tomorrow and I’ll catch them.”

Although it was indeed frightening, the hardest part was that the harassment for several days in a row had seriously affected Li Ruo Shui’s sleep.

She was originally a punctual sleeper, but because of this, she had to make up for her sleep during the day and stay awake at night. She had had enough of this reversed routine.

“Why didn’t your parents just send someone to keep watch, instead they had to find someone to tell fortunes?”

Hearing her talking about his family, the apology look on Zheng Yan Qing’s face faded a little.

“I told them before. However, nothing appeared after a month of guarding, but as soon as the guards left, there was something again. They thought I had struck an evil spirit and they wouldn’t listen to any explanation from me.”

Li Ruo Shui looked at him and asked tentatively, “So what do you think of your illness?”

“It’s a bad fate and illness, and it can’t be helped.”

Zheng Yan Qing knew that this ghost pretending act was deliberate on someone’s part, but he never suspected that his illness was also related to it.

Li Ruo Shui nodded and pretended not to care as she mentioned, “Maybe your illness isn’t an accident either.”

[Host, please do not reveal the plot]

Li Ruo Shui:……

This system is usually useless, but it talks a lot when it shouldn’t appear.

Zheng Yan Qing was stunned for a moment at her words, but then smiled: “Perhaps.”

So what if he knew who did it, he was already in a cage, so why bother to worry about this minor illness.

“Miss Li, go to sleep if you’re sleepy, I’m used to not being able to move, so it’s fine.”

Li Ruo Shui yawned and lay on the table, “I’d better continue sleeping here. I’ll sleep in the bed when I’ve caught the man.”

Lu Fei Yue and Jiang Nian had searched Zheng Mansion upside down but hadn’t found any letters. They had reported to the branch of the case patrol division in the past two days. So it was likely that she would have to stay here for a few more days.

“Did you find out where the fire grass I asked you about is?”

“My mother said I didn’t need it, so she didn’t give it to me.” Zheng Yan Qing was even more apologetic: “I only know there is a dark room, but I don’t know where it goes.”

Maybe it could have been kept in the same place as the letters.

It was written in the original book that the secret room was found in the study, and the way to open it was not complicated, but Lu Fei Yue and Jiang Nian had not found it, so there was probably something wrong with it.

I’ll have to wait until the two of them return and mention it again.

Life is too hard, worrying about everything.

Li Ruo Shui sighed, her voice still hoarse from her previous scream.

“It’s strange, this is your home but you don’t know anything about it.”

Zheng Yan Qing forced a smile and bit his lip in silence for a while, “Yeah, I don’t know anything.”

When no more sound came from the table, he guessed that Li Ruo Shui had fallen asleep.

Zheng Yan Qing looked at the roof and laughed silently.

He thought Li Ruo Shui would escape the first night she was frightened, but he did not expect that not only did she not leave, but instead she rushed out to resist with a wooden stick.

“Miss Li, you’re really bold.”

*