My Lady Always Lacks Ambition

The person looking for the Jiao Pearl hadn’t shown up yet, and Qin Liuxi was first visited by Jing Xiaosi, because his stepmother, Lady Niu, had died, and his cheap younger brother was missing, alive or dead, suspected to have been taken away by Daoist Taiyang.
And the reason why Jing Xiaosi came to Qin Liuxi was that Lady Niu’s death was somewhat peculiar, and he wanted to invite Qin Liuxi to have a look.
The Jing Family manor was not far from Shengjing—it was only a two-hour journey. Marquis Chang’an was also at the manor. When he saw Qin Liuxi, his eyes were squinting, and his nose was flaring; he snorted.
“Is your father blaming me for removing his green hat?” Qin Liuxi whispered to Jing Xiaosi.
Jing Xiaosi: “Don’t worry about him, he just can’t let go of his pride.”
Qin Liuxi nodded pretentiously: “I understand. When a man has worn a hat for too long and suddenly takes it off, his head feels cold and windy; any breeze will make his brain ache. He must be unaccustomed to it.”
Jing Xiaosi: “…”
Although I have no fondness for this father either, you really don’t treat me like an outsider, too blunt!
Marquis Chang’an stopped, turned around, and cold, piercing light shot from his eyes towards Qin Liuxi, implying that she could ‘whisper’ even quieter to see if he could not hear.
Qin Liuxi gave him a grin.
Enraged, Marquis Chang’an swept his sleeve and walked forward briskly.
Qin Liuxi sighed and said to Jing Xiaosi, “Please make sure you don’t pick up your father’s ways, it’s not good, not good at all,” in a manner begging for a rebuke and resentment.
The servants of the manor’s main courtyard had all been taken away, and the main room of the central building was guarded by several guards, preventing anyone from approaching.
Qin Liuxi stopped talking and just walked along, observing the central building and its surroundings.
Something’s not right. There’s not a hint of resentful energy after a death. Could it be that she died with her eyes closed?
Upon entering the central room, Qin Liuxi looked around, her eyebrows rising slightly. It was indeed clean—no resentful energy or yin energy.
“Young Temple Master, we’ve arrived,” Jing Xiaosi reminded.
Qin Liuxi walked into the room, looking towards the bed, and gasped.
On the bed lay a mummified corpse, a skin and bones figure as if completely drained of its vital essence and blood.
Qin Liuxi approached, casually tore off a piece of the mosquito net and wrapped it around her hand, moved Lady Niu’s neck at the carotid artery, and saw a wound that had been punctured by a dagger, next to which were small bite marks.
“All her essence and blood were drained, and the guards didn’t hear anything?” Qin Liuxi asked.
Marquis Chang’an, with a dark face, said, “To make Daoist Taiyang fall into the trap, this manor was guarded like an iron barrel, with both obvious and secret watchers. However, how someone entered and left without notice is baffling. This Taoist is like a sewer rat, always skulking and dodging, truly ignoble.”
Is this roundabout criticism because he thinks his life is too long?
Qin Liuxi narrowed her eyes and stood up with a light laugh. “Yet, the Marquis was still outwitted by this sewer rat. In the future, you ought to be more cautious, especially when you sleep. It would be unseemly for your side to be infiltrated by a silent rat, much like her!”
She was pointing to Lady Niu.
Marquis Chang’an stiffened, his face turned as dark as if it could drip ink, and he glared at Qin Liuxi hatefully.
Qin Liuxi was not the least bit afraid and provocatively curled her lip. She was kindly giving a warning, advising not to underestimate the sewer rat, or one might die without knowing how.
Yes, it was a friendly reminder, definitely not a threat. She was a magnanimous and kind person.
Jing Xiaosi said to Marquis Chang’an with a stern face, “Father, if you’re feeling unwell, it might be best to wait outside.”
If you can’t speak well, don’t speak at all. Don’t offend anyone and bring trouble to the Jing Family. It would be troublesome if we couldn’t find a capable person to help.
Marquis Chang’an became even more infuriated, flung his sleeves, and walked aside.
Jing Xiaosi clasped his hands towards Qin Liuxi and said, “Junior Temple Master, please do not take offense. Although the hidden traps are many, we haven’t detected any movements. This…”
He glanced at Lady Niu and also felt a lingering fear.
Drained of essence and blood, yet no one detected any sign of it. Just as Qin Liuxi said, if the perpetrator truly intends to seek revenge against them, would those traps by their side be of any use?
Qin Liuxi spoke, “Jinhua Temple indeed follows the Righteous Path. However, it’s unclear where Daoist Taiyang learned such vile and evil magic, and moreover, he has mastered it. This proves his innate talent for Taoism is not low. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to successfully cast his life-stealing magic on you. A Taoist with such abilities is certainly not merely a charlatan or a gutter rat. Using Eye-Blocking Techniques, or even summoning ghosts to cover one’s sight and hearing, wouldn’t be impossible for him, and wouldn’t require much effort either.”
Marquis Chang’an’s fingernails dug into his palm from the jab, the young Taoist’s sharp tongue was truly like a knife.
Jing Xiaosi then asked, “Is Jing Wu dead or alive?”
Qin Liuxi, knowing the child’s birth dates, calculated with her fingers and said, “His life span has ended, but…”
“What is it?”
Qin Liuxi shook her head; the divination from his birth dates was unclear, muddled, as if not bound by the laws of heaven and earth.
What inhumane acts had Daoist Taiyang committed on the child, and what was he planning to do next?
One thing for sure, the small bite mark on Lady Niu’s neck definitely belonged to the child. Had the child been made to drain his mother’s essence and blood?
Qin Liuxi gasped sharply, could it be that Daoist Taiyang was planning to turn his son into a little zombie, and then team up as a father-son duo?
“Does this woman have her birth dates?” Qin Liuxi pointed at Lady Niu and asked.
Jing Xiaosi looked towards Marquis Chang’an.
Seeing Qin Liuxi’s solemn expression, Marquis Chang’an spat out a set of birth dates.
Qin Liuxi took an incense stick to light it, then pulled out a jade hairpin from Lady Niu’s head, burned a soul summoning spell, and with slightly parted lips, began chanting the soul summoning spell.
However, after two iterations of chanting, Lady Niu’s soul did not respond, and she gave up.
“Her soul is no longer here.”
Jing Xiaosi asked, “What does this mean? Has she gone to reincarnate?”
“Her death counts as wrongful, and judging by her dreadful appearance, she must have died with resentment. A person who dies with grievance will possess resentful energy and won’t be keen on promptly reporting to the Underworld for reincarnation but would roam the mortal world seeking revenge or retribution. Even if she did go, as a new ghost, I could definitely summon her. However, the fact is, I can’t summon her, which means her soul is either trapped or dissipated, for here, there is neither resentful energy nor yin energy; it’s thoroughly clean.”
Jing Xiaosi was stunned.
“Wasn’t she a person of Daoist Taiyang? Would he treat her like this?” Marquis Chang’an finally opened his mouth to speak.
Qin Liuxi replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “She’s but a mere woman. Marquis Chang’an himself does not care much for her, why would Daoist Taiyang, a man, care? If he really cared, he wouldn’t have just taken his son away.”
Marquis Chang’an’s face turned green, and he huffed heavily.
Jing Xiaosi pursed his lips and sighed, “From the look of it, we are completely in the dark about what actually happened to them, aren’t we?”
“Not necessarily,” Qin Liuxi said as she looked out towards a peach tree, poked her head out, and called, “Hey there, come here.”
From the peach tree, a Hidden Guard jumped down.
“I’m not calling you, disappear. I’m calling the Tree-dwelling Ghost behind you, come out swiftly,” Qin Liuxi beckoned. “If you don’t show up, I’ll help you reincarnate right now!”
Everyone stood dazed: “…”
May they, in their ignorance, inquire, what exactly is a Tree-dwelling Ghost?