CH 154

Villainous Malevolent Ghost (8)

“You–“

Looking at the shocked expression on Song Xu Yi’s face, Bai Yu was on the verge of tears.

She didn’t know what had come over her. She was always calm and composed, and was praised by everyone for her grace and elegance. She never thought she would be so angered by a few words. She knew that times had changed, and the old saying “A scholar may be killed but not humiliated” was no longer applicable in this day and age. But looking at Song Xu Yi, she couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat, unable to digest the anger inside.

She could never be angry with Song Xu Yi in this lifetime. She had been pulled into this life-and-death crisis time and time again because of her. She had no face to be angry with her.

But the anger inside her couldn’t be vented. Bai Yu’s eyes fell on Huang Feng, who was next to her–

It’s all because of him!

It was him who spoke nonsense in front of Xu Yi, tarnishing her reputation in the future. He even dared to covet Xu Yi…

With a pervasive sense of killing intent in her heart, Bai Yu clenched her eyes and raised her hand towards Huang Feng. A gray-black smoke appeared in the palm of her hand–

?!

Song Xu Yi had been watching Bai Yu’s expression closely, intending to find a way to comfort her. But she didn’t expect that Bai Yu would be reminded of something and turn her gaze to Huang Feng, her eyes filled with bright killing intent and making her look completely different from the tearful little crybaby she was when facing her.

“Bai Yu!” Song Xu Yi’s heart skipped a beat as she couldn’t help but hold Bai Yu’s hand.

Bai Yu pursed her lips and turned her head to look at Song Xu Yi, her eyes still showing signs of redness and low pressure that was almost visible to the naked eye.

Looking at Bai Yu’s appearance, Song Xu Yi suddenly understood what Bai Yu was concerned about–

Just as she had thought before: Bai Yu was a person from ancient times, and in the era she lived in, rumors could easily harm someone, and words alone could be enough to drown a person!

In the face of rumors that lacked sufficient evidence but could potentially cause immense harm to others, Song Xu Yi always believed that she should remain calm and let the truth come out in due time. As for rumors that obviously sounded fake, Song Xu Yi never got involved.

So today, Song Xu Yi did the same thing. When she heard Huang Feng spreading rumors about Bai Yu’s wild history, even though she knew it was fake, she didn’t want to talk to Huang Feng because she disliked him. Song Xu Yi remained silent and didn’t refute the rumors on behalf of Bai Yu.

At that time, she didn’t think much of it, but now she suddenly realized she was wrong.

Sometimes, even though we know something is wrong, we don’t speak up because of various reasons, which in a way, only tolerates the spread of rumors.

Moreover, Bai Yu was not “someone else,” she was Song Xu Yi’s friend.

After thinking this way, Song Xu Yi understood Bai Yu’s anger and felt a little guilty in her heart.

But the most important thing right now was to protect Huang Feng. Even though he was disgusting, there were laws to punish him. She couldn’t let Bai Yu soil her hands and become a murderer.

“Bai Yu, we live in a society governed by the rule of law,” Song Xu Yi took a deep breath and tried to meet Bai Yu’s gaze, “It’s illegal to hurt people.”

Bai Yu’s expression shifted and she glanced at Song Xu Yi. The black mist in her palm dissipated, but she didn’t put her hand down.

“No one else knows about your existence and the existence of the evil spirit in this room. There’s only me, Huang Feng, and the innkeeper who fainted,” Song Xu Yi knew that Bai Yu still had a murderous intent, so she changed her tone and tried to persuade her from a different perspective, “If something happens to Huang Feng, I’ll be the first suspect and I’ll be thrown into jail…”

As expected, when Bai Yu learned that this matter involved Song Xu Yi, she put down her hand. But she said coldly, “No one dares to put you in jail. Even if they do, I will rescue you!”

“Of course,” Song Xu Yi felt her heart warm, knowing that Bai Yu had let go of her murderous intent. She quickly smiled and tried to appease her, “I know that Bai Yu is the most powerful, and you will definitely protect me.”

When Song Xu Yi smiled, her cheeks had two small dimples, and her eyes seemed to have hidden shiny stars. Bai Yu loved the way Song Xu Yi smiled. Whenever she saw her smile, she felt like she could ignore all the unpleasant things in life.

However, as she looked at Song Xu Yi’s clear and happy smile, Bai Yu bit her lip and felt even more filthy. She remembered the thoughts she had after watching the movie yesterday, wanting to be intimate with Song Xu Yi. Bai Yu lowered her head, feeling suddenly depressed, and let out a muffled “Hmm.”

What’s wrong with Bai Yu?

“Bai Yu, let’s first move the innkeeper out. He’s innocent and shouldn’t be involved in this,” Song Xu Yi had been observing Bai Yu’s expression all along, thinking that she was unhappy because the bad guy didn’t receive his just punishment. She told Bai Yu her plan, “As for Huang Feng, the drugs he has are illegal, and he tried to harm me. Although he failed, it’s enough to report to the police. I’ll go to the police after dawn.”

As Song Xu Yi spoke, she looked at Bai Yu with a twinkle in her eye. “Bai Yu, you’re so capable. You should be able to make him confess to everything at the police station, right?”

“Mm.”

But Bai Yu was not pleased and still looked very low-spirited. She turned her head to glance at Huang Feng, narrowed her eyes, and with a flick of her finger, a gray smoke seeped into Huang Feng’s mind.

Though she couldn’t take Huang Feng’s life, Bai Yu didn’t want to let him off easily either. She planted a curse inside Huang Feng’s body, so whenever he had any impure thoughts, the insects inside him would stir up his limbs and internal organs, causing excruciating pain.

Of course, Bai Yu didn’t tell Song Xu Yi about this.

As the smoke entered his body, the sleeping Huang Feng immediately frowned and moaned in pain.

But neither Song Xu Yi nor Bai Yu paid any attention to him. Bai Yu walked to the innkeeper’s side, chanting a spell softly. Little by little, sparkling light flowed into the innkeeper’s body, and his pale face slowly regained some color.

Bai Yu’s focused concentration on reciting the scripture gave her a saintly beauty, which reminded Song Xu Yi of the Bai Yu standing on a high platform reciting prayers in her dream. She still couldn’t believe that a figure from a thousand years ago suddenly appeared in her life.

“He will wake up in about the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn,” Bai Yu said.

Bai Yu couldn’t meet Song Xu Yi’s gaze and walked to the door, pushing it open. As if an invisible hand was lifting the innkeeper’s body, it floated up and slowly drifted to the end of the corridor before gently descending to the ground.

“By the way, Bai Yu, I still have many questions in my mind.” Song Xu Yi took a moment to gather her thoughts and looked up at Bai Yu, who had her head bowed low. “But before I ask those questions, I want to apologize to you.”

“I’m sorry!” In the face of Bai Yu’s puzzled expression, Song Xu Yi apologized sincerely, “As your friend, I should have defended you when I heard Huang Feng slander you. I’m really sorry, from now on…”

“Xu Yi, I don’t blame you.” Before Song Xu Yi could finish her sentence, Bai Yu interrupted her. Song Xu Yi didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but Bai Yu seemed even more upset now. She looked up at Song Xu Yi for a moment before lowering her head again, “It was my lack of discipline, my impatience, that allowed my inner demons to take hold. I almost caused harm to you.”

Xu Yi is so kind!

Even in a situation like this, she still comes to apologize. She’s really cute, so cute that it makes me want to hold her in my arms and protect her from any harm. But it’s me who should be apologizing, I… I seem to have some unforgivable thoughts towards Xu Yi.

Bai Yu knew that Song Xu Yi wanted to ask something, but in this situation…

But she didn’t have the energy to come up with excuses to explain everything.

She waved her hand and something shattered with a “crash,” and the sound of people playing cards and the whistling wind from outside the living room became clear to both of them.

“Deal with all of this first, and when you have the time, call me. I’ll give you an explanation,” Bai Yu pretended to be calm and glanced at Song Xu Yi before almost fleeing into the protective charm once again.

Except for Huang Feng, who had passed out, this was a sleepless night for everyone.

The innkeeper, who had inexplicably fainted at the end of the hallway, suspected that there was something wrong with his body. After tossing and turning, he went to the hospital the next day for a check-up and were diagnosed with early-stage malignant tumors. But because they were discovered in time, the innkeeper recovered well and could be considered lucky in misfortune.

Upon hearing Song Xu Yi’s revelation about Huang Feng’s attempted drugging and assault, the group of people who were playing cards became enraged. After all, they were all students and feared that Huang Feng might do something worse. The male students took turns guarding Huang Feng throughout the night while Xu Juan’s boyfriend repeatedly apologized to Song Xu Yi and even slapped himself in remorse. The female students, worried that Song Xu Yi might be traumatized by the incident, stayed by her side and comforted her. Despite Song Xu Yi’s insistence that she was fine and just wanted to rest, her shaken friends didn’t believe her and kept checking on her from time to time.

Song Xu Yi pretended to sleep with her eyes closed, feeling extremely warm inside because of her friends’ actions. But she didn’t forget about the main issue and began to question the system:

“Xu Yi, I really had no choice,” the system had been tormented by guilt during this time. Under Song Xu Yi’s questioning, the system thought that even if that wicked woman wanted to retaliate against it, she had Song Xu Yi to protect it, so it promptly spilled everything:

“To be honest, I had always felt that something was off. It was like someone was secretly taking care of you,” the system stuttered. “They were adding water to your cup, helping you find your books… and there were other details as well. But at that time, I couldn’t be sure and I was afraid of disturbing you during your exams, so I didn’t tell you.”

“Until the day your second brother was possessed by an evil spirit and the wicked woman appeared in the room and killed the evil spirit, I proved my guess,” the system’s voice was filled with tears: “Xu Yi, I really wanted to tell you then, but… but the wicked woman threatened to turn me into a mute if I spoke too much. I didn’t dare to tell you! Sob, sob, sob, she was too scary!”

The system’s fake crying sounded really horrifying, and Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but interrupt the system’s wailing: “And then?”

“Then! Then she blackmailed me,” the system sobbed: “And when you stayed in the hotel that time, she made you pass out with some scary means because she was afraid of affecting your exam, and then she tied those people up and threw them into the construction site…”

Song Xu Yi had already guessed these questions, but what she cared about more was another question: “As her ally, do you know why she can follow me?”

“To be honest, at first, I was extremely puzzled and didn’t understand why she would leave the Bai family’s ancestral home and follow you, until I heard her conversation with you that day, and then…” the system’s voice became hesitant: “Xu Yi, you’re so smart, you should know, right?”

Song Xu Yi was stunned for a moment.

She remembered what Bai Yu had said about “only being able to leave the house by staying with the Bai family”, and instinctively asked: “Does that mean I am the Bai family’s illegitimate child?”

“No!” The system coughed violently and raised its voice: “Think about what happened on the night you met Bai Yu!”

Song Xu Yi blinked and finally remembered the preparations she had helped Xia Tian make for the sacrifice that night.

A certain guess emerged in her mind, and Song Xu Yi felt extremely horrified. Her rational mind did not want to believe it at all, and she almost subconsciously opened her eyes and looked at Xia Tian: “Tiantian, before me, did any other non-Bai family members participate in the Bai family’s preparation for the sacrifice?”

Xia Tian had been awake the whole time and looked at Song Xu Yi’s clear expression with a heartbroken look of “As expected, Xu Yi was pretending to sleep just to comfort us.” She shook her head and said, “I don’t think so.”

“Before, Bai Jin told me that the ritual is the most strict ceremony in their Bai family. Even when Bai Jin hadn’t fallen from grace, whenever they held a ritual, they would even use an infrared detector to drive away any outsiders wandering outside the house and would not let anyone participate in the ritual who was not from the Bai family! After all, there was a rumor that a guardian deity protected the fortune of the Bai family, and those who participated in the ritual would be considered Bai family members who would have good fortune. If anyone could participate in the ritual, wouldn’t just anyone be able to take away the Bai family’s good fortune…”

“Apparently, the Bai family even established a rule to burn to their ancestors, saying that anyone who was not from the Bai family who participated in the ritual would be eliminated on the spot! After you helped that day, I always felt afraid and later looked up information about it. But I didn’t dare tell you and cause you more trouble. Fortunately, this rule seems to be fake, and nothing happened to you that day, so I let it go and didn’t tell you…”

Song Xu Yi couldn’t hear what Xia Tian said later, and she sat dazedly at the head of the bed, asking the system in her mind, “So why wasn’t I eliminated?”

“Yeah! Why weren’t you eliminated then?” The system’s voice sounded extremely dull, remorseful, and muttered in a low voice, “I should have stopped you.”

Song Xu Yi covered her head, her face turning red, and buried it in the blanket, wishing that all of this was just a nightmare.

However, Xia Tian’s words kept echoing in Song Xu Yi’s mind, reminding her of a fact: she might have been accepted by Bai Yu as her bride when they first met!

No wonder Bai Yu didn’t dare to speak up and just silently followed her. After all, Song Xu Yi had just finished the postgraduate entrance examination, and if she had known this earlier, she would have been devastated.

Just like now, after learning about this, every time Song Xu Yi thought of Bai Yu’s gorgeous face, she felt very uneasy and didn’t know how to face her in the future…

In Song Xu Yi’s agony, the night quickly passed.

The next morning, the group took the earliest cable car down the mountain and saw the morning sunlight they missed yesterday: the brilliant rays shining through the surging sea of clouds, illuminating the Bai Yu statue. The entire statue looked magnificent, draped in holy light, as if a goddess had descended…

Now that Song Xu Yi knew that Bai Yu was in the bead on her wrist, she had no intention of taking pictures of these beautiful scenes to show Bai Yu. Song Xu Yi herself also had no mood to appreciate them: even though the statue was beautiful, it was just an inanimate object and couldn’t compare to Bai Yu’s stunning appearance in real life.

After getting off the cable car, the group took a taxi to the nearest police station.

Strangely, Huang Feng had been unconscious the entire time, but he woke up just as they arrived at the police station. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: after all, if Huang Feng had woken up in the car, who knows what kind of chaos he would have caused.

Huang Feng opened his eyes and saw that they had arrived at the police station, and he widened his eyes in shock.

But he quickly calmed down: before he took action, he had already observed that the surveillance in the corridor was not powered on due to room renovations, and he hadn’t caused any actual harm to Song Xu Yi. Besides, no one knew what had happened in the room, so he planned to shift the blame and say that Song Xu Yi intentionally framed him because her confession had failed…

With fear in his eyes, Huang Feng listened to the police’s questioning, desperately trying to stop himself from speaking, but the words involuntarily spilled out…

It’s over!

Looking at the serious-faced police officer across from him, Huang Feng felt fear for the first time, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he wet his pants…

……

Due to Huang Feng’s confession, the case was processed quickly and the group was out of the police station by noon after going through the necessary procedures.

“I asked my friend and found out that purchasing banned drugs and attempting rape, even if unsuccessful, carries a minimum of three years in prison.” On the way back, Xia Tian looked very happy and arranged for transportation back to the hotel.

Song Xu Yi remained composed throughout the day and didn’t show any unusual behavior. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Xu Juan’s boyfriend was probably feeling guilty for bringing trouble to the group. He hung his head and looked very dejected.

No one was in the mood for the planned activities, so they went back to the hotel to catch up on sleep.

Huang Feng’s room was empty due to his detention, so Xu Juan, who had been sulking with her boyfriend, became concerned about him after seeing his current state. After confirming with Song Xu Yi that it was okay, she moved back to her original room and slept with her boyfriend.

Song Xu Yi is living alone in a room.

The quiet space is perfect for conversation. Originally, Song Xu Yi planned to question Bai Yu, but at this point, she suddenly didn’t know what to ask. Everything that needed to be said was already said by the system.

Everything was just a misunderstanding, and she couldn’t blame Bai Yu for it. After all, Bai Yu stayed by her side just to protect her.

However, even though she knew this in her head, when facing Bai Yu, Song Xu Yi simply couldn’t summon the courage. Whenever she thought about becoming Bai Yu’s bride, she felt an overwhelming sense of shame.

With her mind in turmoil, and having not slept all night, exhaustion ultimately overcame her, and Song Xu Yi couldn’t help but fall into a deep sleep.

In a daze, Song Xu Yi felt someone standing beside her. The person’s gaze was filled with sadness as they carefully tucked her in and then disappeared into thin air once again.

Song Xu Yi’s eyelashes trembled as she drifted off to sleep, but before she completely succumbed to her dreams, she made a decision.

When Song Xu Yi woke up, it was already dinner time.

She felt sticky all over, so she grabbed some fresh clothes and headed towards the bathroom. However, when she reached the door, she stopped in her tracks and returned to the table, blushing as she took off the red string on her wrist.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the beads that had once been so bright and colorful now seemed to have dulled a bit.

As Song Xu Yi blinked her eyes, her lips quivered, but she couldn’t speak out her decision. Blushing, she went back to the bathroom instead.

After Song Xu Yi finished her shower and came out, she saw several missed calls on her phone. The others had woken up and were urging her to come downstairs for dinner. Song Xu Yi picked up her phone and headed downstairs, only to realize that she hadn’t put on her red string.

“That wicked woman had already investigated it,” the system saw Song Xu Yi looking at her wrist and tried to make up for its mistake. “This hotel is very safe with a formation set up by experts. There are no evil spirits around…”

Had Bai Yu done so many things behind her back without her knowledge?

Song Xu Yi’s expression was dazed for a moment, and she made a firm decision. After a long time, she murmured a soft “yeah” and buried her head in her meal.

The system was also curious about what Song Xu Yi planned to do with that wicked woman. The system couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction when it remembered the wicked woman’s gut-wrenching expression as she watched Song Xu Yi sleep. The system was eager for Song Xu Yi to scold the wicked woman, but at the same time, it was hesitant to ask, considering that it had once been a partner in crime with the wicked woman.

All the system could do was anxiously observe the development of events.

After dinner, Song Xu Yi went upstairs. The red string with the protective charm was still on the table, accentuating the desolation of the room. Song Xu Yi took a deep breath and finally mustered the courage to speak. She restrained the heat on her cheeks and spoke softly, “Bai Yu, can you come out? Let’s talk.”

After about ten seconds, a pure white figure slowly took shape in the air. Bai Yu did not dare to look up at Song Xu Yi. She kept her head down and bit her lower lip, leaving only a silhouette for Song Xu Yi to see.

Is she going to cry again?

Watching Bai Yu’s appearance, Song Xu Yi realized her shy behavior may have seemed like she was distancing herself from her. Bai Yu only wanted to protect herself, but it led to Song Xu Yi’s avoidance. If she were in Bai Yu’s shoes, she would feel heartbroken too.

Thinking of this, Song Xu Yi couldn’t care about her own embarrassment and quickly spoke up, “I’m sorry, Bai Yu, don’t cry! I didn’t mean to distance myself from you. It’s just that I didn’t know how to accept this reality, so I’ve been thinking about it for a while…”

Bai Yu remained silent, turned her head, and looked at Song Xu Yi quietly. Seeing Bai Yu’s clean eyes, Song Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she hadn’t cried.

“But I’ve been thinking about it, and all I can think of is how good you’ve been to me. Bai Yu, you’ve treated me with sincerity, and I can’t betray your friendship.”

Song Xu Yi was still somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by Bai Yu so intently, but she was afraid that avoiding her would hurt her feelings. She could only bear the heat on her cheeks and continue speaking, “Since we’ve become family by accident, I’ve thought about it, and I think it would be more convenient for you to follow me than to follow Bai Jin. I’ll treat you as my little sister and help you adapt to this world…”

“Bai Yu?”

After struggling through her embarrassment, Song Xu Yi realized that Bai Yu didn’t seem to have much of a reaction. Her eyes were vacant, as if she were lost in thought.

Hearing Song Xu Yi’s inquiry, Bai Yu’s eyes gradually regained their clarity, and she smiled, “Thank you, Xu Yi. Thank you for being willing to take me in.”

“Actually, I should be thanking you! You’re so powerful, yet you can only stay by my side to protect me. It’s really a waste of your talents!”

As Song Xu Yi spoke, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy about the strange look on Bai Yu’s face earlier. It was as if Bai Yu had suddenly become a different person, no longer the talented Xuan Shi but instead filled with pain, making Song Xu Yi feel sorry for her.

Was it because of her previous neglect?

The more Song Xu Yi thought about it, the more guilty she felt, so she continued to talk about her plans: “Actually, you don’t have to stay in the bead all the time. Since we’ve talked it out, when no one is around, you can come out of the bead and talk to me. You must be bored staying in there alone. If you don’t feel like talking to me, you can play with a phone. I’ll buy you one tomorrow so you can get familiar with this world through it…”

As Song Xu Yi spoke, she kept an eye on Bai Yu’s reactions. She noticed the curve of Bai Yu’s lips getting deeper and knew that Bai Yu was finally happy. Song Xu Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn’t notice the deep gaze in Bai Yu’s eyes.

The night before, Bai Yu had hurriedly fled into the bead, but she had thought for a long time and couldn’t come up with an excuse for why she was able to follow behind Song Xu Yi. In her restlessness, she heard the voice of a little spirit in Song Xu Yi’s mind, chattering away.

Although she couldn’t understand what the little spirit was saying, when Song Xu Yi asked Xia Tian, Bai Yu understood that she probably already knew everything.

For the rest of the day, Bai Yu was on edge, afraid of being rejected by Song Xu Yi and afraid of being driven away from her… She was also confused by the fear and terror that emanated from deep within her soul.

And then what happened? After the world thought she was dead, she became the guardian deity of the Bai family?

……

As painful memories flashed through her mind and her emotions turned volatile, Bai Yu’s eyes gradually took on a gloomy cast. But in the moment she saw the worried look in Song Xu Yi’s eyes, she snapped out of it.

It was Xu Yi! Xu Yi, who wasn’t afraid of her because she’s a ghost, who willingly approached her, who worried about her going barefoot and wanted to help her break free from her shackles, who cared for her deeply…

As long as Xu Yi was here, she knew she had nothing to fear. Xu Yi had said she wouldn’t abandon her.

The author has something to say:

Thank you for the little angels in the comments section who are concerned about my health. I will try to adjust my schedule and go to bed early after finishing my writing (I’ll try my best…). Also, to the night owl readers in the comments section, please remember to go to bed early too~